About Emergency Management

​​​​​​​what is emergency management?

​​Emergencies and disasters can strike at any time and without warning. The City of Coppell Emergency Management Department exists to help manage the effects of emergencies and disaster events. The office provides essential support to the community by focusing on the four phases of disaster: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.​

​​​​​Mitigation

​Activities that attempt to change the nature and/or magnitude of a threat, or reduce exposure to a hazard.

Ex) Not building in a flood plain | To see if your location is in an established flood plain, enter your address into FEMA's Flood Map portal​.​​​

​​​​​Preparedness

​​​​​​Actions taken to plan, organize, train, and equip response activities. Preparedness is a continuous process of evaluating and improving a community's ability to prevent and protect (mitigate), respond to, and recover from disaster.

Ex) Creating a home or office severe weather plan, or learning about the potential hazards that may impact your community | NCTCOG's Make A Plan Toolkit

​​​Response

​​​​Actions that are taken during or immediately following a disaster or emergency. These actions include the mobilization of emergency services, first responders, and activation​ of the Emergency Operations Center when necessary.​

​​To learn how you can do your part to help your family and your community using these four phases of disaster, see the "Readiness" and "Volunteer" sections for more information.​

​​​​​​​WHAT IS An EOC?

The City of Coppell operates and maintains its own Emergency Operations Center (EOC), located at the Life Safety Park. The EOC is a central command and control facility responsible for ensuring municipal operations are maintained throughout unforeseen events. It is specially designed with reinforced materials, backup power supply, and advanced technological audio/video equipment.

On an average day, the EOC is minimally staffed for constant situational monitoring and maintenance; Coppell's EOC contains six specialty computer work stations for monitoring impending weather conditions, controlling city traffic flow and street operations, and communication system maintenance. In the event of EOC activation, additional personnel and representatives from public safety, emergency response, and various support agencies are called in to coordinate and enact the City’s Emergency Operations Plan.

While the EOC is designed to handle unplanned events and emergencies, it is much more than a reactionary tool for the City. The hub will play host to many training sessions, tabletop exercises, planning workshops, and general preparedness activities in an effort to be as much of a preventative tool as it is to serve in the event of an emergency.